Developing World Needs Linux

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

[with thanks to SDNP's Networking and Information Technology 
Observatory http://www.sdnp.undp.org/observatory/ ]



Developing World Needs Linux 
By Michelle Delio

Wired News 

02:00 AM Jun. 21, 2003 PT


NEW YORK -- To get the economy of a developing country going, its 
government must stamp out corruption, ramp up efficiency and use open-
source technology to build a cheap, reliable information 
infrastructure, experts at a conference sponsored by the United 
Nations told investors and policy-makers this week.

By sticking with basic, low-cost, open-source technology, developing 
countries have a better chance of establishing vibrant economies, 
executives at the Net World Order conference said. The event was held 
at technology trade show CeBIT in New York City and was sponsored by 
the Business Council for the United Nations, a U.N. strategy research 
center.

"These countries need cheap and efficient technology to make the 
giant leaps necessary to catch up with the rest of the world," said 
Bruno Lanvin from the World Bank. "Many are now using Linux, which 
looks to become the No. 1 operating system in China and India soon."

Also under discussion at the conference was the need to reconstruct 
Iraq's technical infrastructure in a way that would provide economic 
opportunity and terrorism-fighting capabilities to the local 
government and the international community. The goal shouldn't be to 
simply rewire Iraq's phone and Net access, some said.

The country should be wired with chemical and radiation detectors, 
cameras and other sensors to give security officials a heads-up on 
saboteurs bent on keeping the country in disrepair, said Talal Abu-
Ghazaleh, a Middle East economist and member of the United Nations 
Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. Participants 
discussed ways to build terror-tracking and alert systems into the 
infrastructure of developing nations.

The importance of openly sharing information was the central thread 
of the conference.

Investors attending the "Developing World" session were advised to 
look into open-source projects by Rishab Aiyer Ghosh from the 
Maastricht University Economic Research Institute on Innovation and 
Technology.

Ghosh also pointed out that without knowing the needs of the 
developing world, any tech projects are doomed to fail. When geeks 
are put in charge, they tend to lust for the newest, coolest 
technologies that often do not suit developing nations' needs.

"Stick to the basics," Ghosh advised. 


source: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,59334,00.html